“Did you hear?”
“How could I not?” Shelby grumbled.
I crossed my arms and waited for them to shut up. I knew it had been completely unlike Grant to do anything like that. He had been the first person to admit that, but it had still happened. “Are you through?” I asked, cutting off whatever Cheyenne was about to say to Shelby.
“Wait, you’re serious?”
“Pretty serious.” I held up the dog tags still hanging around my neck. “I’d say he’s my boyfriend.”
All three girls went silent, their eyes fixed on the dog tags. I was pretty sure I’d just shocked the shit out of them. Then again, the entire thing had surprised me. I definitely hadn’t thought that this would happen after almost having sex, admitting I was a virgin, and then arguing about it almost to the point of no return.
Grant McDermott is my boyfriend. I had to mull it over for a bit to get used to that thought.
“You’re dating Grant McDermott?” Gabi said to break the silence.
“Um…yeah. Well, we’ve been dating since September, but I guess it’s official now.” I shrugged.
Cheyenne blinked away her shock. “Girl, I’m excited for you. I’m just…wow. How did this happen?”
“We almost had sex.”
“You haven’t had sex?” Cheyenne gasped.
“Cheyenne,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“To her credit, Aribel,” Shelby said, “it has been months. Grant isn’t known to keep it in his pants for more than a few hours.”
“He hasn’t been with anyone else since we started talking.”
The disbelieving stares I received were enough to make my stomach flop. He wouldn’t lie to me about that, would he?
Cheyenne glanced at the other girls and then back at me. “I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer or anything. If Grant is your boyfriend and you want it, then I’m ecstatic…”
“But?”
“But he does have a reputation, Aribel.”
Shelby jumped in, “We just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Well, this is going great. “I know his reputation, considering I was the only one in this household who didn’t fall head over heels every time he walked into the room. Maybe you remember that the first time I met him, I drugged him to try to get him to stay away from me. You were the ones pushing me toward him. I know you don’t want me to get hurt, but you can’t just get all concerned BFF when it actually works out.”
Cheyenne sighed. “Well, I just have one question.”
“What?”
“Does this mean I get to see more of Vin?”
We all broke down into giggles.
“Yes, I’m sure it means that.”
We spent the rest of the time talking about the upcoming ski trip. I was really ready to just get through finals so that we could get away. I loved school, and I worked hard, but I’d never really had something like this to look forward to. I always just jetted off back to Boston to see my family.
Cheyenne, of course, was making it a much bigger event than just the four of us traveling up to the Poconos with Grant and the band. From the sounds of it, she had invited everyone that she knew whether they liked ContraBand’s music or not. I didn’t really care as long as Grant and the girls were going to be there.
I made it to calculus just in time. Grant’s dog tags jangled as I found the last available seat. We had a pop quiz, and after hearing everyone’s reactions, I seemed to be the only person prepared for it.
Soon, I was rushing to the chemistry building, ready to turn in my lab work before the final. I set my assignment down on the desk at the front of the room, and then I made my way to my regular seat.
Kristin took the seat next to me and then started messing around on her laptop. She had been acting strange toward me ever since I’d freaked out on her about Grant and I not having sex. Kristin and I weren’t close to begin with, but we did have mutual friends, and I didn’t want it to be awkward at the ski lodge.
“Cheyenne was telling me that you’re coming to the ContraBand show in the Poconos!” I was terrible with false enthusiasm, but I was trying.
“Yep.”
“Have you ever been skiing before?”
“Once.”
Seriously? One word replies? I took a deep breath. “That’s great. I’m rooming with the girls. Are you rooming with your friend Kimberly?”
Kristin shot me a disbelieving look. “You’re not staying with Grant?”
I fiddled with his dog tags, and her eyes were instantly drawn to them.
“Oh, no, he’s staying with the guys.”
“Huh. Yeah, I’m staying with Kimberly, Tina, and Jodi. We’re really looking forward to it actually. ContraBand has never played a venue this big before. Did you know that?”
I shook my head. Well, now, she’s talkative.
“Yeah. They played a show in the city that was pretty big, but the music festival is by far the biggest lineup. They’ll get to hang out with other celebrities. They could even get picked up there. It’s a great opportunity. I mean, I’d be sad if they had to tour the country, but it would be worth it. They’re so amazing.”
Tour the country? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. They had been picked up on a whim for the Poconos music festival when someone saw them at the Halloween show, and that show had only happened because another band had dropped out of the lineup.
No need to jump too many steps forward. I’d just gotten Grant. I didn’t want him to leave to tour the country. I knew what the groupies were like here. I couldn’t imagine how much worse they’d be if ContraBand got signed.
Good Lord, Cheyenne’s pity warnings are getting to me. Grant and I had been official for less than three hours, and I was already doubting everything.
Chapter 25: Grant
The week of Thanksgiving, Ari left to visit her family in Boston. I spent the time with my guitar.
Music lifted me up, tore me open, infused others with my very being, and then healed all our wounds. It had been for a very long time what made my world tick
But I’d never been a particularly good lyricist. I knew what I wanted to say, but that would never translate to what I actually wrote. When Miller wrote songs, they had a life force, a beating heart, an inherent energy. Yet, when I sat down to try to make that happen, I would end up tossing out more pieces of paper than were left in the notebook.
All of a sudden, I couldn’t shut my brain off. The voices were there, incessantly calling for me to give them meaning. Every time I ignored them, they would come back full force until it was all I could do to get the words down.